rapid firen.adj.
/ˌrapɪd ˈfʌɪə/, U.S. /ˌræpəd ˈfaɪ(ə)r/ A. n.
The firing of a number of shots in rapid succession; rapid gunfire. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > type of firing
point and blank1590
false fire1602
potting1613
point-blank1614
running fire1629
pounding1633
bulleting1635
platooning1706
sharp-shot1725
street firing1727
ricochet1740
fire curtain1744
plunging fire1747
reverse fire1758
sniping1773
enfilade1796
rapid fire1800
line-firing1802
concentric1804
sharpshooting1806
rake1810
sniping fire1821
cross-firing1837
file-firing1837
curved fire1854
night firing1856
file-fire1857
volley-firing1859
cross-fire1860
joy-firing1864
snap-shooting1872
stringing1873
pot-shooting1874
indirect fire1879
sweeping1907
rapid1913
curtain of fire1916
ripple1939
ripple-firing1940
ripple fire1961
1800 in Repertory Arts, Manuf., & Agric. (1802) 2nd Ser. I. 169 The management of guns to produce a rapid fire.
1810 Times 28 Feb. 3/3 The rapid fire of the French..augmented the confusion.
1820 Edinb. Advertiser 25 Jan. 56/1 The other maintained a rapid fire on the assailants.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood xii. 120 Instantly afterwards, a rapid fire of stones rattle at the Cathedral wall.
1925 C. Connolly Let. 27 June in Romantic Friendship (1975) 94 Will you start a rapid fire of postcards etc. if I do, just for a bit?
1967 Extrapolation Dec. 55 George Orwell kept up a rapid fire of criticism.
1991 Soldier 28 Oct. 49/4 The [target pistol] team..looked comfortably ahead..with a lead of 21 points and with their normally stronger discipline, the rapid fire, to follow.
B. adj. Usually with hyphen.
1. Of a gun: able to fire a number of shots in rapid succession. Also designating gunfire of this kind. Cf. quick-fire adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > quick-firing
rapid fire1861
QF1889
quick-fire1889
1861 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 155 The defenders..bring to bear their rapid-fire guns.
1890 Noble in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 944 The increased importance of rapid-fire guns.
1900 F. P. Dunne Mr. Dooley's Philos. 61 Th' paapers says th' rapid fire gun'll make war in th' future impossible.
1918 Rev. of Reviews Oct. 383 The male tank was armed with two six-pounder, rapid-fire Hotchkiss guns, and four Lewis machine guns.
1976 All about Games (Com. Org. des Jeux Olympiques) 76 The competition now includes..small-bore rifle shooting, rapid-fire pistol shooting.
2007 Vancouver Province (Nexis) 10 June a19 Police are concerned that more rapid-fire weapons are winding up on the streets and in the hands of gang members.
2. In extended use of action, speech, etc.: rapidly occurring; fast-paced, unhesitating. Cf. quick-fire adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1921 Life 24 Nov. 22/2 Whatever you may say in criticism of Rex Beach's melodrama, ‘The Iron Trail’.., it certainly possesses a wealth of rapid-fire action.
1948 A. C. Kinsey et al. Sexual Behavior Human Male ii. 54 Rapid-fire questioning.
1969 Times 25 Mar. 9/1 The new play relies for its theatrical effect on rapid-fire repartee.
1976 New Yorker 15 Nov. 120/2 The classic symptoms of stuttering..include rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel sounds.
2006 R. Nerz Eat this Bk. ix. 100 He attacks each stick with a rapid-fire succession of minibites.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.adj.1800